One year after Alan Kurdi photo, the moral test of a generation

By Carolyn Miles

Updated 10:11 AM ET, Fri September 2, 2016

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Photos:Young refugee's body washes ashore in Turkey

The body of a 2-year-old boy who washed ashore in Turkey was identified as Alan Kurdi, seen here, left, with his brother, Galip, who also drowned. The boys and their mother, Rehen, died during a treacherous journey across the Mediterranean Sea in September 2015 to escape war-torn Syria. The boys' aunt, Tima Kurdi, who lives in Canada, posted this image to Facebook.

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Photos:Young refugee's body washes ashore in Turkey

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Photos:Young refugee's body washes ashore in Turkey

Authorities stand near Alan's lifeless body on September 2, 2015. This photo went viral around the world, often with a Turkish hashtag that means "Flotsam of Humanity."

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Photos:Young refugee's body washes ashore in Turkey

An officer in Bodrum, Turkey, carries Alan's body away from the shore on September 2, 2015. The child was one of 12 refugees who drowned during a failed attempt to sail to the Greek island of Kos.

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Photos:Young refugee's body washes ashore in Turkey

People carry a coffin during the funeral for Alan, Galip and the boys' mother, Rehen, in Kobani, Syria, on Friday, September 4, 2015. Alan's father brought their bodies back from Turkey for burial in the city they had fled.

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Photos:Young refugee's body washes ashore in Turkey

People stand near the coffins during the burial ceremony in Kobani on September 4, 2015.

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Photos:Young refugee's body washes ashore in Turkey

Abdullah Kurdi, the boys' father and widower of Rehen, mourns during the funeral in Kobani on September 4, 2015.

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Photos:Young refugee's body washes ashore in Turkey

Men dig graves for the three coffins in Kobani on September 4, 2015.

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Photos:Young refugee's body washes ashore in Turkey

Kurdi holds Alan's body before burying him in Kobani on September 4, 2015.

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Photos:Young refugee's body washes ashore in Turkey

One of the coffins gets lowered into the ground September 4, 2015, in Kobani.

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Story highlights

Carolyn Miles says the world must step up and make a commitment to help refugees

We must also help host countries and ensure the future of young refugees, Miles says

Carolyn Miles is president and chief executive officer of Save the Children, an organization that gives children in the United States and around the world a healthy start, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. Follow her on Twitter @carolynsave. The views expressed in this commentary are her own.

(CNN)Every week last summer news of refugees streaming into Europe dominated global headlines. Yet it wasn't until September 2, one year ago, that the world reacted in horror to the image of Alan Kurdi -- the 3-year-old Syrian toddler who drowned trying to escape a war that was older than he was -- dead on a beach in Turkey.

Like the photo of the naked girl burning from napalm during the Vietnam War or images of starving children in Ethiopia in 1984, would Alan's photo prompt action by world leaders to end the suffering that has caused millions of people to risk their lives in search of safety?

Sadly, the answer so far is no, and the world must do better. Since Alan died, more than 4,000 mothers, fathers, sons and daughters have died trying to make a similar journey across the Mediterranean, according to the International Organization for Migration. The situation is so dire that Save the Children, an organization for children in need, is launching a search and rescue boat to prevent children from drowning as they try to get to Italy from Africa. Globally, during the same period, the International Organization for Migration estimates that more than 6,000 migrants died attempting to find a better life.

Just last week, humanitarian organizations including Save the Children called for a 48-hour ceasefire in Aleppo, Syria, to allow for aid and food to reach the families under siege. That's a first step, but political solutions to end fighting in Syria, Afghanistan, South Sudan and elsewhere must remain the goal to bring about peace and to ensure that another generation of children doesn't grow up surrounded by constant violence.

The reality is that even when such solutions do develop, not everyone who has left can or will go home. Some still do not feel safe returning. For others, their land or home is gone. For others still, there is no reason to go home because they have been permanently resettled in their new home country -- earning a living, integrating into local communities and making economic and civic contributions.

Regardless of why people left and whether or not they can return, there are three steps we can take to improve the lives of displaced people the world over.

Photos:Children of conflct

Photos:Children of conflct

2016: Aleppo, Syria -- Five-year-old Omran Daqneesh waits shell-shocked in the back of an ambulance. He and other members of his family were injured when airstrikes ripped through his neighborhood in August. The photo inspired international grief and put a face on Syria's ongoing civil war.

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Photos:Children of conflct

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Photos:Children of conflct

2015: Bodrum, Turkey -- An arresting image of a migrant child's dead body washed up on a Turkish beach served as a tragic reminder of the risks faced by Syrian refugees. The photo also became a touchstone for discussions about how Europe and other countries should approach the refugee crisis.

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Photos:Children of conflct

2014: Gaza City -- A man carries a child as another lies dead after an Israeli airstrike on a Gaza City beach in July 2014. At least four boys, ages 9 to 11, were killed. The Israeli military investigated the tragedy and reported that the location of the attack was known to be a compound of Hamas police and naval forces. "Tragically, in the wake of the incident it became clear that the outcome of the attack was the death of four children who had entered the military compound for reasons that remain unclear," the report stated.

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Photos:Children of conflct

2005: Tal Afar, Iraq -- In a time when truly resonant war photos were hard to come by due to the dangerous climate in Iraq, a photographer captured a truly wrenching moment. The girl is Samar Hassan, screaming and spattered with blood after her parents were mistakenly killed and her brother was wounded by U.S. troops. The image was widely used to represent the true civilian cost of international conflict.

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Photos:Children of conflct

2003: Najaf, Iraq -- An Iraqi prisoner of war comforts his son in a POW holding zone. The emotional image won the 2003 World Press Photo award.

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Photos:Children of conflct

2003: Central Iraq -- A U.S. Navy hospital corpsman holds an Iraqi boy. Confused front-line crossfire ripped apart an Iraqi family. This moment of compassion was captured barely a year after the official start of the U.S.-led war in Iraq.

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Photos:Children of conflct

2001: Quetta, Pakistan -- Seven-year-old Fermina Bibi, from Kandahar, Afghanistan, lies wounded in a hospital bed. She and her brother were injured when their home in Kandahar was bombed. They were transported to Pakistan for treatment.

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Photos:Children of conflct

1972: Trang Bang, South Vietnam -- Nine-year-old Kim Phuc wails in agony as she and her fellow villagers flee a napalm attack. This unflinching look into the horrors of the Vietnam War earned a Pulitzer Prize. Phuc survived, and eventually started her own foundation to aid child victims of war.

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First, we need to continue to support countries at the front lines of the crisis with immediate needs. I just returned from Berlin, where I met with refugee families. They told me that the majority of their basic needs such as food and shelter are covered, but their biggest concern is their children's future. Nearly every family I've spoken with says the main reason they fled their country is so their children could have an education and a childhood.

Germany has taken in more than 1 million refugees in the last year, and the government is doing what it can to register children for school as quickly as possible and to allow for families to move out of the camps and integrate into society, but they need our political and financial support.

Another example is Lebanon -- a small country where more than 25% of the population is refugees. This country has taken in families in their time of need, but they need additional funding from the international community for extra shifts at school so more children can access quality education, vocational training and cash subsidies to avoid a rise in child labor.

Second, as leaders prepare to meet in New York for the UN General Assembly, they should commit to the principle that no refugee child should be out of school for more than 30 days. Given what these children have been through, we need to focus on more than just their immediate physical needs.

After basic needs are met, few things are more beneficial than an education to help a child recover from the psychological trauma of violence. Learning inside a classroom helps children gain skills that enable them to become productive members of society and embrace a future of hope, not one overshadowed by the false promises of extremism.

Finally, we need to change the negative and generalized way that we think about the 65.3 million people worldwide who are currently forcibly displaced. They are individuals who would collectively make up the 21st-largest country in the world, with a population larger than Texas, Florida and Pennsylvania combined. They come from all races, religions, professions and more than 150 countries.

Many have experienced or witnessed violence on a scale that most Americans cannot fathom. Each has a family and has had to leave a job and oftentimes a home. We need to understand that those displaced are people with great potential.

President Barack Obama's Leaders' Summit on Refugees is just 18 days away. This fall will also see the election of the ninth UN secretary-general and elections in more than 20 countries. It is time for the world to step up and make a greater commitment to help refugees, help the countries who host them and give refugee children a future they can believe in.